Dan Henderson: Pre-Fight Interview Ahead Of Fedor Fight

Dan Henderson is heading into another huge fight this weekend when he takes on another legend of the sport in Fedor Emelianenko, and in a new interview with MMAfighting’s Ariel Helwani he talks about the fight and his future in Strikeforce given that this is the last bout on his current contract.

See what he had to say for himself below, or scroll down to watch it for yourself.

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– Henderson says he didn’t ask for the fight with Fedor, it was offered to him by Zuffa as he needed a fight in July before his current contract ends and there wasn’t a suitable opponent at the time for him at 205lbs where he currently holds the title.

– Regarding the confusion over whether the fight with Fedor would be fought at a catchweight, Henderson says that was never an option for him and he had clarified from the beginning that he would only be interested if it was to be fought at Fedor’s natural weight-class – heavyweight.

– Hendo confirms that he’s not planning to put on weight for the bout and instead will stick around his usual 204-205lb mark.

– Assessing Fedor’s last couple of performances Henderson admits that “something in there was lacking” , but he believes that the former PRIDE star will be remotivated for this bout and he hopes that he’ll be fighting the version of Fedor that everyone remembers from his heyday.

– As for potential weaknesses in Fedor’s game, Henderson notes that he’s wild with the way that he throws his punches and he says he’ll be looking to capitalize on that. He also plans to “get in there and wear him out.”

– Henderson admits to being a little nervous about his fighting future given that this is the last fight on his current contract and his ex-employers Zuffa, who released him from the UFC after refusing to meet his pay demands in 2009, now own Strikeforce.

While Hendo accepts it’s a possibility that he could be released and never get to defend his light-heavyweight belt he stresses that he has no desire to fight anywhere else and is sure that they can work out a deal.

He also adds that he’s “never disliked” Dana White and accepts that his decisions are based purely from a business stand-point and aren’t personal.

– Henderson, who has been known to use Testosterone Replacement Therapy for health reasons for some time, is reluctant to discuss other people’s use of it, but when pressed admits he does think that “a couple of people” are misusing it.

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